A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking directions regarding the admission and continuation of studies for Indian medical students recently evacuated from war-torn Ukraine. The plea also calls for the Centre to provide a medical subject equivalency orientation program to integrate these students into the Indian curriculum.
Filed by advocate Rana Sandeep Bussa and others, the petition emphasizes the protection of life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The plea highlights the hardships faced by the students, including financial, mental, physical, and academic challenges, and calls for government intervention to facilitate their education continuation.
The PIL notes that since the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine, several petitions have been filed in both high courts and the Supreme Court, seeking directions for the Centre to assist returning students in continuing their studies at domestic medical colleges. A similar petition was also filed by the Pravasi Legal Cell in the Delhi High Court.
While acknowledging the Union government’s commendable efforts in safely bringing Indian students back from Ukraine, the petition stresses that these students are currently deprived of their fundamental right to education. It urges the government to integrate foreign medical students into the Indian medical curriculum.
The plea also references the National Medical Commission’s allowance for foreign medical graduates to complete their internships in India due to the ongoing conflict, advocating that the government similarly consider the plight of the displaced medical students.
